Witness testifies about temple furnishings at Jeffs trial

Evidence presented in sentencing phase

Deric Walpole has resumed as counsel for Jeffs, who faces up to 119 years in prison.

Patrick Dove

Photos by Patrick Dove/Standard-Times
For the first time since his sexual assault trial began almost two weeks ago, polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs arrives at the Tom Green County Courthouse in shackles Friday. Jeffs on Thursday was found guilty of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Patrick Dove

SAN ANGELO—Warren Jeffs didn't want to be in the courtroom when the state presented evidence against him for the sentencing phase of his trial.

His former lead attorney returned to represent him while Jeffs was voluntarily absent.

So Jeffs, the leader and "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, didn't see the pictures of the temple beds.

Friday afternoon the state revealed pictures of beds in the temple building at the Yearning for Zion Ranch, the 1,700-acre property in Schleicher County raided in April 2008 amid allegations that sexual abuse of children was taking place.

A former FLDS member, Rebecca Musser, testified for the prosecution Friday that she had received training before the temple was built about how beds in it would be used for sexual matters. She said what she had been taught about the presence of witnesses and someone to record the events matched what she saw at the temple outside San Angelo.

"We would learn the best ways to conceive children," Musser said about what she was taught was to happen at the temple.

She was the second witness called by the state in the penalty phase in the trial of Jeffs, the 55-year-old leader and prophet of the FLDS who was convicted Thursday by a Tom Green County jury of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Friday was the 10th day of the trial, and the jury heard testimony, evidence and arguments in its task to determine sentencing.

Musser, under questioning by special prosecutor Eric Nichols, said the settings inside the YFZ Ranch were what she had expected, and it included the beds, seats for witnesses and a seat for someone to record events.

She said she was a spiritual wife of Jeffs' father, Rulon Jeffs, and when he died in 2002, Jeffs wanted to marry her along with other women who had been "married" to Jeff's father.

The FLDS practices polygamy as a religious tenet, using "spiritual" or "celestial" marriage for multiple wives.

"I will break you and I will train you to be a good wife," Musser said Jeffs had told her, and then said he would marry her in a week.

She left the FLDS before that happened.

Carolyn Jessop — who had been a plural wife of Frederick Merril Jessop, an FLDS member scheduled to go to trial for performing an illegal ceremony — testified that she saw changes Jeffs made to the FLDS community she was a part of, such as not allowing Bibles in the household, making children at his school with heavy religious training attend from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., destroying children's books, and marrying girls that looked as young as 14 to her.

"I witnessed some ages that were alarming to me," Jessop said.

She said she worked as an FLDS member at a motel that would shut down whenever FLDS weddings were to be performed.

Her testimony could continue today.

Larry Beall, a Utah psychologist who has treated FLDS members, also took the stand. He said sexual assault can cause physical illnesses such as heart disease and stroke, and can bring about post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Beall said the social conditioning in the closed ranks of the FLDS that restricted free choices also inhibit natural brain development. In many cases, he said, "the girl has no frame of reference to understand what is happening to her as a victim."

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Deric Walpole, Beall said he had not examined or treated either of Jeffs' victims.

Jeffs was not in the courtroom to witness any of the testimony. The day began with Jeffs delivering another proclamation he said was from God.

He read a statement for the court before the jury came in.

"This judging of the servant of my sending is an unjust attack," he said. The nation will "go down with the fall of Babylon, and there will be a whirlwind of judgment over North and South America."

Jeffs said he did not want to be present through the sentencing phase but neither did he want standby counsel to represent him.

State District Judge Barbara Walther said Jeffs must have representation if he is not in the courtroom, and she appointed Walpole, the lawyer he fired at the start of the trial last week, to represent him.

"I know that this is difficult for you to understand," she told Jeffs, "but you don't have control over these proceedings."

In his opening statement, Nichols said the jury would see evidence that Jeffs had hundreds of victims in addition to the 12-year-old and 15-year-old girls Jeffs was found guilty of sexually assaulting.

"The evidence you will hear will show the horrible and horrific crimes ... are but two examples of the defendant's criminal conduct that spans decades," Nichols said. He said the amount of evidence will be "breathtaking."

Nichols said Thursday night the state planed to present evidence of Jeffs having 78 illegal wives, 24 underage; had participated in more than 500 bigamous marriages; and had broken up about 300 families with his rule over the polygamous sect.

In opening remarks for the defense, Walpole — who has remained in court throughout the trial — said evidence will show that Jeffs was only following his religion, having been born into it. "What the evidence will show is that the stronger (Nichols) makes his case, the stronger it makes mine," Walpole said.

"We're all products of our environment," Walpole told the jury."You've shown you can be tough. Now we'll see if you can be fair."

The eager attorney compared himself to the apostle Peter drawing his sword to defend Jesus, who told Peter to put away his sword.

He said he at first took it personally when Jeffs fired him after jurors were selected but before they were sworn in.

"It occurred to me when he chose to represent himself that, unfortunately, my thoughts turned to myself and how it would affect me," Walpole had told reporters after the guilty verdict Thursday, but before he was reappointed lead counsel the next day. "And it took a while to come to the realization that this isn't about me, it's about him, it's about his case, it's about his defense and it's about him doing what he sees fit to represent himself."

Walther at first rejected Walpole's request to have the jury consider whether evidence from the raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch in 2008 should be admitted, but later said she would review some case law he presented.